


Wipe my nightmares away

by Ra_chelB



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: F/M, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Married Couple, Nightmares, Romance, Sick Character, Sickfic, veronica is sick and john is a good husband
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-31 02:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21049028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ra_chelB/pseuds/Ra_chelB
Summary: 1985, while Queen are working on their new album A Kind of Magic in London, John can spend some time at home with his family. One night Veronica wakes up after a nightmare with a high fever and John decides to take care of her instead of going to the studio. Everything is very fluffy and they love each other a lot, that's it.





	Wipe my nightmares away

**Author's Note:**

> NOTES: English is not my first language and I've never wrote anything this long in English (even though I'm working on a series) so please leave some feedbacks and tell me if there's errors. I wrote this because I'm in need of fluffy Johnica fics and tried to make one myself. I can't think of good titles btw...  
The wedding ring episode is completely invented by me, I don't know why Deaky stopped wearing it at some point but I like to think for the best, and I'm sure he still loves Ronnie anyways, with or without ring.  
Usually I draw fanarts tho, I invite you to take a look at it on my instagram @ra_rachel.b and on my tumblr, eileen-crys. Hope you like it!

Veronica was at the side of the stage, in the front rows right underneath John, surrounded by the rest of the audience and with her kids carefully clinging together at her legs while she held little Joshua on her hip. Usually she'd stay in the backstage, safe and sound with the security and the roadies, but today was a strange exception. She didn't mind enjoying the concert as part of the audience, though.

She heard Robert's voice calling her.

"Mom, I'm going to the bathroom!" But before she could reply and go with him, Robert flee in the middle of the audience, disappearing through all the dancing and singing bodies.

"Robert! Robert, wait!" She yelled and held Josh steadier in her arm, while grabbing Michael with the other hand, trying to follow her eldest son.

"Mike, hold Laura's hand and don't let go!"   
Mike turned his head and his sister wasn't there anymore.  
"Laura? Laura's gone!" 

"What?" Veronica saw the pattern of her daughter's dress moving and then disappearing in a forest of legs.

She began to panic.

"I'm gonna find her, don't worry mom!"  
Mike escaped from her grasp and followed his younger sister. 

"No! No, Mike!" Veronica cried out, but the music was too loud and nobody in the audience was letting her pass to find her children. 

"Michael! Laura! Robert!!!" She called again, despair growing in her chest as tears filled her eyes. 

"Please help me! I can't find my kids!" 

No one, not even the closer people, seemed to hear or see her, everyone was too focused on the stage. 

"Someone please help me!" 

Her screams went into the void.  
Josh began to cry desperately in her arms, she held him even closer and began to cry as well, her eyes darting in the audience, almost blinded by the tears.

Suddenly, she felt the weight of her youngest son being lifted from her chest. She turned, horrified, to see a security guard holding Joshua and carrying him away from her.

"I'm sorry, lady, this kid is too little to stay here."

"NO!" She reached out to take him back, but the guard walked away and she couldn't move, blocked by other people.

"I'm the bassist's wife! That's his son, he can stay! Please!" Her voice cracked, a sudden pain hitting her throat as the man disappeared. 

"Help me! God, please!"

What was happening, how could it be possible?  
Where were her kids? 

They were _ gone _.

_ All four. _

Sobbing uncontrollably she ran under the stage and called John, even if he was playing and probably already a bit drunk.

"John! John I can't find the kids!" 

He heard her desperate cry, but all he did was smiling and waving at her with the most shining smile ever.  
He didn't notice the absolute horror in her eyes.

Hopeless, she felt like throwing up and turned to face the rest of the audience.  
Everyone too busy ignoring her.  
Veronica buried her face in her hands and let out a scream, tears falling through her fingers.

When she lifted her face, she was now on the stage.  
She froze.

"_ How… _?" 

"John? Is everything alright?" Freddie was on her left staring at her, Brian right behind him.  
Veronica looked around, but John wasn't there.  
She felt a weight on her shoulder: she was holding his bass. 

"Our Deaky seems a bit lost tonight, huh? Give him an applause, come on!" Freddie cheered up the audience, who roared loudly. 

_ What the hell was happening? _

Ronnie ran her fingers through her hair and finally realized: now she _was_ John.  
On the stage, about to start playing _Under Pressure_.  
She was completely petrified, cold sweat soaking her back.

Freddie reached next to her and whispered, full of worry. "Darling you're supposed to play, what the fuck is going on?" 

She just let it out without thinking.  
"My children, Freddie! I've lost them in the audience, I can't… I don't know…" she muttered, John's voice coming out from her mouth.

Freddie gave her a questioning look.  
"Dear, you don't have kids. Ronnie died from childbirth ten years ago, but I thought you went through this."

_ She did what? _

Freddie waved a hand in front of her face.  
"John?" 

"John!" 

She cried out at the top of her lungs and sat on the bed, panting and covered in sweat.

"Ronnie I'm here! I'm here, it's ok… It's over…" John wrapped her in his arms, swinging her gently as her body was shaken by sobs. 

"The kids… they were gone… I couldn't- Oh my God..." 

"Shh, it was a nightmare, but it's over." He placed a kiss on her temple to calm her down a bit and noticed she was burning. "The kids are sleeping in their rooms, we're home, safe and sound." He put a hand on her sweaty forehead. "I think you have a fever, love…" 

Veronica was still shaking, feeling her head wrapped in a bubble.  
John helped her laying down and held her hands. It wasn't the first time she had nightmares about their family, but this time seemed to be worse than ever.

"Wanna talk about it?" 

She nodded, and told him about her dream with broken voice, needing to stop a couple of times to catch her breath. He held her closer and she buried her face in his neck, feeling his hands running on the back of her head.  
When she finished, John softly wiped the tears from her face.  
"You're burning like crazy, Ronnie. Try to sleep, I'm here now and you're safe. Ok?" He whispered, his heart broken at the thought of her nightmare. It was one of the most terrible things he could ever imagine and he thanked God it didn't happen for real. 

"Mmh…" Ronnie groaned and tried to relax, even if it took a while. 

John left another kiss on her forehead and waited for his wife to get asleep again in his embrace. 

\---

The scent of eggs and toast hit her nostrils and she blinked a couple of times before opening her eyes. She was feeling like being underwater, her head was incredibly heavy and her whole body aching, making it almost impossible to get up.  
Memories of the previous night came back slowly, she had another nightmare about her kids, but at least John was there to comfort her. The last time she had a nightmare like that he was on tour on the other side of the planet and she almost lost her mind the next day, worried for her children while they were at school.  
She heard his voice echoing in her mind:_ "I think you have a fever, love…"_ and he was right.   
But Veronica was too stubborn to stay in bed the whole day, so she tried to get up, wrapped herself in a cozy night robe and walked unsteadily to the kitchen. 

"Mommy!" Laura ran towards her and and hugged her tight, looking up with big green eyes. "How are you?"

"Dad told us you have a fever!" Robert added, his mouth full of scrambled eggs.  
Ronnie patted Laura's head, who freed her from the hug, and sat at the table. 

"Apparently I do…" she was feeling awful, though the sight of the children reassured her.

"'Morning, honey." John placed a kiss on her temple like he did during the night, not just to show affection, but also to check her temperature. "We're staying home today, I'll take the kids to school." 

"No, no, you're recording today, I _ can _ take them to school." Ronnie fought back, part of her believing she was in condition to drive.

"Already called the studio." He smirked.  
She lowered her head, defeated. There was no way to change his mind and he already organized everything, she knew it too well.

"Fine, remember to give them the umbrellas, It's supposed to rain today..." Ronnie groaned, pinching her nose. 

"Don't worry." John replied and set a cup of tea in front of her. 

While she was drinking her cup, John helped the kids preparing for school and all of them said goodbye to the feverish mom.  
Feeling sleepy, she took an aspirin and got back to her bedroom, falling fast asleep.

\---

"Mommy! Mommy!" A 5 years old Robert was running towards her, coming out from the groves. 

"What's up, honey?" Her attention shifted from Mike, still a toddler sitting beside her on the picnic towel, to Robert and she caught him in her arms. He's been scared by something and kept looking at the trees where he came from.

"It follows me, wants to eat me!" The boy sniffled and sobbed loudly on his mother's shoulder, while Mike whined and clung to her dress with his tiny hands, his lower lip trembling in fear. 

A dark figure appeared from the woods, growling deeply and showing his fangs.  
The biggest wolf she'd ever seen slowly approached them, his burning eyes fixed on Veronica. 

"Where's papa? I want papa!" Robert cried and the beast walked nearer. 

Suddenly, a deep slow melody filled the air and echoed in her chest, and for some reason she couldn't explain it made the wolf run away. 

She woke up and the sound of John's bass was reverberating in the house from the room below hers. Ronnie sighed in relief.   
Checking the clock, she noticed she's been sleeping for a couple of hours. It also started to rain outside. She closed her eyes and let the music pound in her chest and in her head, losing herself in bliss.  
When she heard John stopping and huffing in frustration she got up and went downstairs where she found him sitting with the bass on his lap.

He saw her leaning on the door's frame and gave her a soft smile.  
"Feeling better?"

"A bit, I took some meds and a nap right after the tea." 

"Good." He rummaged the papers filled with notes and scribbles in front of him, lost again in his thoughts.

"Thank you." 

John looked back at her, a bit confused. 

"For what?"

"For staying home today. And… I was having another nightmare and somehow your music saved Robert, Mike and me from a beast that wanted to eat us. I heard you playing and… I don't know, that wolf disappeared."  
She waved her hand. "Don't mind me, it was just a dream."

He gave her a loving gaze.  
"No, that's great… it's lovely, I'm glad my music saved you all." He chuckled, looking at his papers. "I always do my best, you know…" 

"Sure I know." She got next to him and peeked at the papers, stroking his curly hair. He lifted a hand around her waist.  
She was feeling cold and the warmth of his body was like a balm.

"New song?" 

"Yes, I'm writing it with Fred. I'm trying to find a proper bassline now, he gave me a couple of hints, but… Uhm, maybe I'll try something else." 

"The words are beautiful." She smiled fondly reading the title: _ 'Friends' _ and some of the lines, almost all of them handwritten by John with some addings in Freddie's calligraphy. 

"Just writing down some feelings and thoughts as usual…"

She gave a light smack behind his head and giggled. "Stop being always so humble!" 

"Okay, okay, sorry!" He laughed back. "We actually want to make it a song anyone can sing along with their friends, you know, maybe like _ 'Champions' _ , all together... Do you recognise these lines?"  
He pointed at the sheet and she read it.

_ 'It's not easy love, but you've got friends you can trust / Friends will be friends / When you're in need of love they give you care and attention.' _

"You told me that." 

"Yes, I remember... You really needed a break then." She gave him a rub on his head.  
The band had a rough time some years before while recording _ Hot Space _ and she remember John being very nervous, almost hating his bandmates. All she could do was distracting him and giving some hints to relieve the stress.

"I went skiing with Rog and spent some time with the guys without thinking about music. Just as friends."  
He raised his chin to look up at her. "Thank you for the advice. I almost forgot they were friends before colleagues. And I'm glad we're doing good now."

"You know I'm always here for you, love." 

"I also know you're my best friend." He turned to place a kiss on her belly, over the dress.   
Veronica rolled her eyes, blushing at his pun on the song. He couldn't help but teasing her with it and she knew.  
It was still her favourite, after all.

Suddenly a feverish shiver ran down her spine, making her freeze. 

"I think you should rest again, Ronnie." 

"Mmh, want to stay here with you…" she shrug, but her temperature was rising again. 

"Ok then, if I have to carry you upstairs-" he stood up, carefully putting the bass on its stand, and tried to grab her, but she fought back giggling.  
He tickled her sides and she bursted out a laugh, her knees giving up and finally she fell into his arms.

"Look at what you make me do at my age, damn!" 

"I surrender, _sir_." She giggled again and let him lead her to the bed.   
When Veronica slid under the covers, John tried to go back to work, but felt a hand grabbing his shirt.  
His wife was looking at him with liquid eyes, a sad smile on her lips. 

"Can you stay for a bit?" She begged.

Usually she was capable of letting him go and focus on his work, but the illness always made her quite clingy. The new song could wait, John thought, she deserves it.

"Sure, love." He sat on the bed and held her hand. 

"I don't want to have another nightmare…" she confessed, looking away. 

He nodded and stroked her hand with his thumbs in silence. Just letting her know he was there.   
Fidgeting with her wedding ring, John felt guilty for not wearing his.  
He lost it during the last tour: he used to wear it constantly but one day, during a sound check, he had to remove it because a scratch on his bass's neck was making friction against his ring and he decided to try playing without it. He played well, but somehow the ring wasn't in his pocket anymore after the show. 

"Still thinking about the ring?" Ronnie's voice guided him back on earth. "You know I'm not mad about it."

"Yes, but I still wonder how it could've been possible…" he closed his eyes, pouting. 

Veronica took his left hand and placed a kiss on his ring finger, making him smile. 

\---

The whole day passed quietly under a pouring rain, Veronica managed to rest without nightmares, the medicines began to work and her fever got better, while John had some time to go on with the song, adjusting some lyrics and finding a good bassline. After taking the kids home, he watched a movie with them, trying to not disturb their mom, then prepared a hot soup for everyone and Ronnie finally joined her family for dinner. 

"Mommy, how do you feel?" Laura asked.

"A bit better, sweetie. Dad took good care of me today." 

"I even saved your mom from a wolf that tried to eat her in a dream!" John was absolutely proud of his heroic action and caught all the kids' attention.

"Really? How?!" Robert was eager for details.

"I played the bass while mom was sleeping and _ 'woosh!' _ the wolf disappeared!" He made little Joshua giggle in ecstasy. 

"Is it true?" Laura turned to her mom.

"Yes, absolutely!" She nodded fiercely.

Suddenly, Mike _ sneezed _.

And sneezed again.

Everyone stared at him, the table became silent as he sneezed the third time in a row and sniffled loudly. 

John and Veronica exchanged a worried look.

"Mom, dad… I think I'm sick."


End file.
